Sunday, March 20, 2011

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Unconfirmed reports are circulating of a new, very large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico about 20 miles from the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster

There are reports that the Coast Guard is investigating a new, very large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico close to where the BP Deepwater Horizon exploded and leaked massive amounts of oil into the environment.

It is rumored that the company involved is W&T Offshore, Inc. and that the name of the rig is Matterhorn SeaStar. While no firm information is available as to the existence of said leak, consider the following example of efficient markets existing only in textbooks.

Conspiracy theorists

For another look at the concept of efficient equity markets not really being efficient (all people know all critical company news at the same time), consider the price action of W & T common stock into the close on Friday.

Now we will watch the story, if there is one, play out. Obviously somebody may have known something and told all of their friends as the stock sold off into the close. Or maybe nobody knew anything and a rumor simply spread.